What is Live Chat?
Live chat (also called live support) is a technology that provides companies with a way to interact with their website users in real-time.
The live chat feature adds a form of messaging functionality that allows your website visitors and customers to speak directly with you or any other assigned customer care representative(s) right on your website.
Conversations happen in real-time, just like on Facebook Messenger, and visitors do not have to wait for a reply.
Advantages of Live Chat
- ✓ Faster response times than e-mail.
- ✓ Customers do not have to leave the page that they are on your website.
- ✓ It can be implemented sitewide.
- ✓ It is the best solution for quick questions or enquiries.
- ✓ It can be programmed to automatically say hi to your visitor in order to draw their attention.
- ✓ You can keep a record of your chats with your visitors and also collect their email addresses. This is called a transcript in the world of customer service.
Disadvantages of Live Chat
- ✗ May occupy some space on the screen.
- ✗ The automated greetings may annoy some users (but can be disabled.)
- ✗ Client may get angry if they expect a response but no one is there to answer their chats. (You can always set closing hours and offline status when unavailable.)
- ✗ It would add to the overall website maintenance workload. We suggest that you subscribe to a website maintenance plan.
